It was a close race, but Bill Beam and Martin Oakes appear to be the GOP candidates for county commissioner in November’s general election.

Oakes won a place on the General Election ballot with 2,495 votes, or 29.06 percent of voter support.

“I appreciate everyone who ran in this election and that there was no mud slinging,” Oakes said. “It was a clean election, and everyone did a good job. I look forward to running in November.”

Beam appears to have won the second slot on the ballot for the position, following closely behind Oakes with 2,222 votes or 25.88 percent of voter support.

“I am truly humbled by the results,” Beam said. “It was very nice to see the amount of support I had countywide.”

County commissioner candidate Anita McCall received 2,091 votes, and candidate Richard Permenter received 1,779 votes. However, according to Lincoln County Board of Elections Director Bradley Putnam, the final results will not be officially tabulated until this afternoon, when the Board of Elections concludes its canvassing of each of the county’s precincts.

Clerk of Superior Court Incumbent Fred Hatley won the Republican Party’s nomination with 2,354 votes or 45.48 percent of voter support. Candy Burgin received 1,554 votes from county residents. Currently serving as chairman for Lincoln County’s Board of Commissioners, Alex Patton received 24.5 percent of the voters’ support, with a total of 1,268 votes. Hatley could not be reached for comment regarding his ballot nomination prior to publication.

United States House Representatives incumbent Patrick McHenry received an overwhelming amount of support compared to his opponent, Richard Lynch. With 4,045 votes, McHenry received 78.27 percent of voter support.

In regards to the United States Senate Republican race, Thom Tillis received 48.22 percent of the county voters’ support with 2,536 votes. Candidates Greg Brannon and Mark Harris followed, with 1,263 and 1,067 votes respectively. For the Democratic ballot, incumbent Kay Hagan was nominated, receiving 1,035 votes from the county.

As for the Libertarian candidates running for United States Senate, Sean Haugh received 7 votes, more than three times as many as his opponent, Tim D’Annunzio.

District 27 District Attorney Democratic candidate John Bridges received 955 votes, while his opponent, Colin P. McWhirter, received 356 votes from the county.

In regards to Supreme Court voting results, Mecklenburg County Superior Court judge and Republican Eric Levinson received 56.96 percent of the county’s support with a total of 3,535 votes. Democrat and Associate Justice Robin Hudson earned 1,852 votes. Hudson is currently running for second term on the state’s highest court.

According to the statistics provided by the local Board of Elections, only 6,900 votes were cast in this year’s primary election. There are currently 51,942 registered voters in Lincoln County, giving the county a voter turnout of 13.28 percent. Out of the ballots cast, there were 5,408 Republican ballots cast, 1,469 Democratic ballots cast, 10 Libertarian ballots cast and 13 Nonpartisan ballots cast.

At this time, provisional ballots have not yet been counted. The Lincoln Times-News will continue to update this story as the election results are finalized and released to the public.

Incumbent Clerk of Court Fred Hatley won the Republican party’s nomination and will face Elaine Harmon in the general election in November.